The Great Escape SE - May 25 (1 Viewer)

John Hodson · Jan 24, 2004

www.dvdtimes.co.uk has announced the R1 release of the rwo disc SE of The Great Escape.

Features include:

2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
English DD5.1 Surround
English, French and Spanish Mono
English, French and Spanish subtitles
Commentary With the Cast and Crew
“The Great Escape: Heroes Underground” Featurette
“The Great Escape: The Untold Story” Featurette
“The Real Virgil Hilts: A Man Called Jones” Documentary
Trivia Track
Original Theatrical Trailer
Photo Gallery

More details and pack shot here.

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So many films, so little time...

Eric Estrada · Jan 24, 2004

Thanks John for the info. I definitely picking this up!

Jeremy Allin · Jan 24, 2004

Sounds great! I have owned the non-anamorphic version for a long time. It'll be great to finally replace it. Perhaps someone can answer this as I don't have the DVD around right now. Isn't the AR greater than 2.35? I believe it is more like 2.55 or 2.76.

Paul_Scott · Jan 24, 2004

i've had the R4 SE for almost two yrs now and still haven't watched it yet.
still not the best looking widescreen dvd of a film from the early 60s, but a big improvment over the first R1 non-a release though, thats for sure.

wonder why it took so long for the R1 version to show up?

Paul_Scott · Jan 24, 2004

Jeremy, i remember this film being closer to 2.40/2.5 myself , but i think the R4 version is closer to 2.35.

i'll check tonight to make sure, but i wouldn't be surprised if it had been cropped a bit to 2.35.

MartinTeller · Jan 24, 2004

Worst cover art ever?

Matt Butler · Jan 24, 2004

Martin,

Ive seen worse cover art but its the movie that really counts.

Im so stoked for this. Between this and Good Bad Ugly this is a great year for classic SEs. Time to unload my non-anamorphic.

Robert Crawford · Jan 24, 2004

If you haven't watched it, how do you know it's not the best looking widescreen dvd from that era?

I've had the Region 4 dvd for awhile too and I think the dvd presentation is very good. This has been a favorite film of mine since I was a kid and saw it for the first time during its original theatrical run in 1963.

The features on this upcoming Region 1 release are the same with the Region 4 release.

Also, the cover art is basically the same too with the Region 4 having a more greenish tint to it.

Crawdaddy

Jim_K · Jan 24, 2004

Been waiting for this. Needless to say it'll be mine in May.

Jeff D Han · Jan 24, 2004

Great news!

The original DVD release looks like the
letterboxed laserdisc- pretty bad as far as picture
quality goes. I'm sure that the SE will look
alot better.

Jon Robertson · Jan 24, 2004

It looks the same as the already-available R2/R4 release, so it should be a top-notch set. Heartily recommended!

oscar_merkx · Jan 24, 2004

even better news

Roger J · Jan 24, 2004

The transfer MGM used for the letterboxed laserdisc, and apparently the DVD, is overmatted to something like 2.5:1. The film was shot in anamorphic Panavision so the AR of the negative would be 2.35:1.

Haggai · Jan 24, 2004

Awesome! I can't wait, this is a personal favorite. Thanks for the heads-up, John Hodson. Looks like it'll be a good SE, but wow, that cover art really is lame. This isn't one of Steve McQueen's home movies, people!

Ernest Rister · Jan 24, 2004

I'm not one who ever spends time looking at the covers of my DVDs. I watch the movies, not the covers. As far as I'm concerned, the cover of "The Great Escape" could have a picture of Marlon Brando french-kissing Dom DeLuise and I'd still buy it.

Patrick McCart · Jan 24, 2004

The R1 Great Escape used a full-area source (meaning that the picture was not correctly framed) and then further matted down.

The anamorphic R2 DVD correctly presents the 2.35:1 image and so should this DVD if it's 2.35:1.

Haggai · Jan 24, 2004

I don't think anyone's going to avoid buying a DVD just because of the cover art, Ernest. I'm going to pick this one up regardless, as I would with any movie I like a lot that has a good DVD release. I'd just rather the covers would be good instead of bad, and this one looks disappointing.

Mark Edward Heuck · Jan 24, 2004

Has Criterion allowed MGM to reuse the commentary the late John Sturges recorded for their previous laserdisc? Or is this a cobbling of other existing audio interviews?

Jon Robertson · Jan 25, 2004

It's other John Sturges interviews (taken, if I recall correctly, in the 1970s). Criterion's commentary is nowhere to be found, alas.

Paul_Scott · Jan 25, 2004

i've watched a few minutes from different chapters, but i haven't yet sat down and watched the disc from begining to end.
the original R1 disc was unwatchable on a FP, the remaster is quite watchable, however some of the shots, long shots mostly, seem soft and lacking in detail.
not a bad presentation by any means, but there are many 2.35 AR films from the sixties that look finer on disc.
Hombre, which i pulled out last night and watched a little of, would be just one example.

not trying to talk anyone out of picking the new SE up- its a major improvment over the original.

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